Centennial Olympic Park kicked off its inaugural Fan Fest on June 11, complete with oversized soccer balls, special guest speakers, and a sea of green-clad Mexico fans. The transformed park can feel overwhelming upon entry, with festival activities in every direction. This guide details the five ma jor things to keep in mind as you navigate this unique Atlanta experience. How to get in Atlantans! Let’s consider ourselves lucky–admission into the festival is free of charge. (Los Angeles residents can’t say the same.) However, pre-registration is required at Atlanta’s FIFA website. The tickets slip easily into a digital wallet and are transferable. If you’re flush with cash, VIP and other upgrade options are available.  Regarding transportation, all signs point to MARTA. Parking downtown is extremely limited, so festival guests should plan their trips ahead of time with public transit and, of course, wear their walking shoes. The festival has a strict clear-bag policy, and more admission guidelines can be found here. Prepare for Hotlanta Atlanta natives are no strangers to high temperatures, but to our visitors–beware! It gets hot here! On opening day, top temps were over 90. Temperatures in Atlanta tend to continue to climb into July. Stay hydrated. Wear light clothes. Seek shade (the park has plenty)! Speaking of weather in Atlanta: When it rains, it pours. Good ol’ afternoon thunderstorms have the potential to rain out the park this summer, but not to worry! Fan Fest is a rain-or-shine event. Consider bringing a blanket or beach towel to shield your pants from wet grass. Lawn chairs are not allowed at Fan Fest. Fan Fest Food Official Fan Festival food tents are set up throughout the park, offering internationally inspired entrees like butter chicken and rice. All entrees sit at a no-fuss $18 (plus tax). Alcoholic beverages range from $10 to $20, and Coke products are available for $6. Bottled water is $5.  If you can’t find anything that piques your fancy on the grounds, there are dozens of restaurants in the surrounding area awaiting soccer fan patronage. Don’t worry about leaving the festival–reentry remains free with a valid QR code. Rest Your Legs The best viewing area is the large lawn in front of the main stage. You can see the massive screen from a block away, and rows of vertical speakers bump top-notch audio. That is, if you can hear over the cheers of a fan-favorite scoring a goooooooooal.  My personal viewing pick would be the Pitch–a smaller screen, admittedly, but perhaps a more intimate experience where you can sit with like-minded soccer fans. The Pitch is on the opposite side of the park from the main stage. Some of Atlanta’s best features are its trees, which are abundant in Centennial Olympic Park. Beat the heat on a bench or by the park’s canopied waterways. A large octagonal tent in the center of the park offers shade and tables.  In the kids’ area, children and parents alike can relax in beanbag chairs or spinning plastic bucket seats–which were a hit with the young fans on opening day. Pose for the ’Gram The Olympic rings entrance leads straight into a colorful, geometric archway–the first of many prospective photo opportunities for festival visitors. Snap a pic cheering alongside the cartoon fan cutouts, and venture in further to find a large replica of the official 2026 World Cup soccer ball. You can also pose with Home Depot’s pop-up, “Beckham’s Backyard,” ostensibly based on his English garden. If you care to explore outside the park, a short trip across the street will land you in Pemberton Place, the greenspace between the World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium. Here, you’ll find a larger-than-life World Cup trophy to click a pic with. Volunteers are scattered throughout the park/grounds to assist with picture taking. The post 5 things to know before visiting Atlanta’s FIFA Fan Festival appeared first on Atlanta Magazine. ...read more read less